Anticipated, experiencing, and recalled emotional responses to dog cognitive dysfunction syndrome in Japanese dog owners

Abstract The present study investigated the expected, current, and recalled emotional responses of future, current, and past caregivers of senior companion dogs to geriatric behaviors associated with cognitive dysfunction syndrome (CDS). Japanese participants were divided into three groups: younger dog owners, senior dog owners, and former senior dog owners. Their emotional responses to eleven items of the CDS-related geriatric behaviors and their overall stress level were collected via an online survey. For the current and former dog owners, the stress levels when faced with five psychological and physical stressors in senior dog care were also measured. The results showed that anticipated emotional responses were generally higher than their experienced and recalled emotional responses. Current senior dog caregivers experienced higher levels of negative emotions for behavioral problems, whereas future and former senior dog caregivers expected and recalled higher levels of negative emotions for cognitive dysfunction. Among the five physical/practical and psychological stressors, psychological stress in caring for their dogs showed the highest level of negative emotions. Our findings suggest that, similar to affective forecasting biases observed in human medical decision-making, owners of younger dogs may also overestimate negative emotional responses to anticipated caregiving challenges associated with future canine cognitive dysfunction. This indicates the presence of a cognitive bias in affective forecasting, wherein individuals anticipate greater emotional distress for difficulties they have not yet experienced.